Last week, we went through our top moments in 2024 as a team. Celebrating the work that we do as a team is so important…but doing the work comes first! We regularly speak about how proud we are to provide a safe landing place for people to navigate their immigration journey. In order to make it a truly safe space, though, we also need to ensure that we are providing exceptional legal services. Our legal advocacy is informed by who we are. Our legal advocacy is who we are.
Each client is met not only with compassion, but with expert legal service. When you work with BMLG, you are working with a team who is dedicated to creative problem solving. We love a challenge and work together to make sure that we have explored all possible options for our clients. We also know when to let our clients know that their options might be limited. Transparent legal advice is just as important as creative problem solving—and we do everything we can to make sure that our clients know what they might be able to expect at each turn in their journey.
Thankfully, we have had many client wins this year! Big or small, we love to celebrate each one with our clients. Here are our Top 5 moments of legal advocacy and positive changes in the law in 2024:
1. January – ‘First Generation Limit’ on Canadian citizenship struck down
On January 22, 2024, Minister Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that Canada will not appeal a decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to strike down the ‘first generation limit’ to Canadian citizens by decent. The decision, Bjorkquist et al. v Attorney General of Canada, dated December 19, 2023, found the ‘first generation limit’ to be unconstitutional for violating the Charter rights of Canadians who acquired their citizenship when born abroad.
While we are still waiting for the federal government to pass Bill C-71 and outline how this might impact thousands of ‘lost Canadians,’ we remain hopeful that this pathway to Canadian citizenship will open up for many who are looking to start their life in Canada or reunite with loved ones. Check out our thoughts on this in our January 2024 and December 2024 blogs, plus a video below!
2. February – Constitutional Challenge
Much of our history is rooted in HIV/AIDS advocacy, specifically medical inadmissibility and the excessive demand provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. When a client came to us with a study permit refusal on the grounds that his health condition might cause an excessive demand on Canada’s health or social services, we knew something wasn’t right. So, we teamed up with the HIV Legal Network to file a Constitutional Charter challenge against Canada’s medical inadmissibility law. Mathew continues to advocate for our client and for all people hoping to migrate to Canada who are barred because of their medical condition. The process takes time, but we are hopeful for a positive result for our client and beyond.
3. March – Launch of U.S. Immigration Services
In March, we were thrilled to announce the launch of our U.S. immigration services! BMLG is proud to support clients in a variety of U.S. immigration applications such as (but not limited to) TN Visas, E-visas, L-visas, O-visas, Waivers of Inadmissibility and much more! Check our guide to applying for TN Visas for Canadian professionals!
4. April – Ryleigh arrives in Canada
If you have been following us for some time, you may be familiar with Ryleigh’s story. After a long battle to get her here from South Africa after her mother died in their rural home, we got the good news that she was going to become a Permanent Resident in Canada. After almost 4 years, in April 2024, Ryleigh was reunited with her adopted family/great-Aunt. We are thrilled to have been a part of this reunion!
5. April – Exploring the potential of refugee claims from the US
This last item on our list is not as much of a win…yet. As we watch anti-trans legislation and limits to life-saving healthcare access become the norm in many U.S. states, we have seen an increase of queer and trans people from the U.S. looking to migrate to Canada. After this year’s election, the number of these requests skyrocketed. While filing a refugee claim in Canada as a queer or trans person from the U.S. does not have a high chance of success at the moment, we are mindful that this may change with the changes in the political climate for our neighbours South of the border. Until then, we continue to work with each client to figure out which option is best for them to find a sense of safety that is quickly slipping away for so many Americans.
We wrapped up 2024 with increasing restrictions to immigration to Canada. And still, we persist. Restrictions challenge our legal acumen, our ability to find solutions for our clients who are looking to continue their immigration journey to Canada. We assure you—we are up to the challenge. Our dedicated team of lawyers, paralegals, and immigration consultants are passionate about the law. In 2025, we look forward to continuing to provide expert, experienced, client-driven legal services.
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